Welcome to statefossils.com, your #1 source for information on every U.S. state fossil, state dinosaur, and state stone or gem that is a fossil! Just look through the table below for the state or fossil you are interested in, then click on the link to go to a page with information, a picture, and a map of what North America looked like during the time that organism was alive.
If you enjoy the information contained in this website, why not buy a copy of Steve Brusatte's book, Stately Fossils: A Comprehensive Look at the State Fossils and Other Official Fossils? It gives an in-depth look at each one of the fossils briefly mentioned here. Just scroll down to the bottom of the page for more information.
| State | Official Fossil | Age, Common Name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Basilosaurus cetoides | Eocene, whale |
| Alaska | Mammuthus primigenius | Pleistocene, woolly mammoth |
| Arizona | Araucarioxylon arizonicum | Triassic, petrified wood |
| California | Smilodon californicus | Pleistocene, sabertooth cat |
| Colorado | Stegosaurus stenops | Jurassic, plated dinosaur |
| Connecticut | Eubrontes giganteus | Jurassic, dinosaur track |
| Delaware | Belemnitella americana | Cretaceous, belemnite |
| Florida | agatized coral | Eocene, coral |
| Georgia | shark tooth | Cretaceous - Miocene, shark tooth |
| Idaho | Equus simplicidens | Pliocene, horse |
| Illinois | Tullimonstrum gregarium | Pennsylvanian, Tully Monster |
| Kentucky | brachiopod | Ordovician - Mississippian, brachiopod |
| Louisiana | petrified palm wood | Oligocene, petrified palm wood |
| Maine | Pertica quadrifaria | Devonian, plant |
| Maryland | Ecphora gardnerae gardnerae | Miocene, snail Cretaceous, sauropod dinosaur |
| Massachusetts | dinosaur tracks | Jurassic, dinosaur tracks |
| Michigan | Mamut americanum | Pliocene - Pleistocene, mastodon
Devonian, coral |
| Mississippi | Basilosaurus and Zygorhiza | Eocene, whales
Oligocene, petrified wood |
| Missouri | Delocrinus missouriensis | Pennsylvanian, crinoid |
| Montana | Maiasaura peeblesorum | Cretaceous, duckbilled dinosaur |
| Nebraska | mammoth | Pleistocene, mammoth |
| Nevada | Shonisaurus popularis | Triassic, ichthyosaur |
| New Jersey | Hadrosaurus foulkii | Cretaceous, duckbilled dinosaur |
| New Mexico | Coelophysis bauri | Triassic, theropod dinosaur |
| New York | Eurypterus remipes | Silurian, sea scorpion |
| North Dakota | Teredo petrified wood | Paleocene, shipworm-bored petrified wood |
| Ohio | Isotelus | Ordovician, trilobite |
| Oklahoma | Saurophaganax maximus | Jurassic, theropod dinosaur |
| Oregon | Metasequoia | Miocene, conifer leaf |
| Pennsylvania | Phacops rana | Devonian, trilobite |
| South Dakota | Triceratops | Cretaceous, horned dinosaur |
| Tennessee | Pterotrigonia thoracica | Cretaceous, bivalve |
| Texas | Pleurocoelus | Cretaceous, sauropod dinosaur
Oligocene, petrified palm wood |
| Utah | Allosaurus | Jurassic, theropod dinosaur |
| Vermont | Delphinapterus leucas | Pleistocene, beluga whale |
| Virginia | Chesapecten jeffersonius | Miocene - Pliocene, bivalve |
| Washington | Mammuthus columbi | Pleistocene, mammoth
Miocene, petrified wood |
| West Virginia | fossil coral | Mississippian, coral |
| Wisconsin | Calymene celebra | Ordovician - Silurian, trilobite |
| Wyoming | Knightia | Eocene, fish
Cretaceous, horned dinosaur |
We want to keep this list up-to-date! Did your state recently name an official fossil not listed above? Email us and tell us about it!
The information contained in this site only touches upon the highlights of these official fossils. Published in 2002, Stately Fossils: A Comprehensive Look at the State Fossils and Other Official Fossils gives an in-depth treatment of the natural and cultural history behind the fossils listed above. It is the only book in print on the subject of the state fossils! The book contains 80 photos and over 300 references to further information. SPECIAL!! LIMITED COPIES $7 POSTPAID. DETAILS
Just Published!! (January 2008) North America Through Time: A Paleontological History of Our Continent
Lynne M. Clos
Many books have been written on the history of life, but none other that tells the story of North America's pivotal role in the saga. How did our continent come to be, and what part did it play in the unfolding drama of evolution? What ancient plants and animals inhabited our shores? What were the climate and geography like during ages past? Where can rocks from each time period be found? And where are there public preserves where you can view the fossils in place?
North America Through Time is an exciting journey through the history of life and the part our favorite continent has played in it all. Not a dry textbook, it is written for the general reader with a strong interest in science but no professional background. Abundantly illustrated with stunning paleoart and photographs of fossils, all in full color, this is a journey through time like you've never seen it before. It will grasp your attention and entertain your imagination until the very last page, winding up with a discussion of what lessons from North America's past we can apply to our future.